The City of Ruston could see itself working without the shop area of its Public Works Complex for the next few months after a December fire left that portion of the building unusable.
Ruston Public Works Director Lewis Love said the city is still waiting to hear back from the insurance company on the final cost of the damages the complex incurred during the fire, but they could exceed more than $1 million.
“We still don’t know how much it is going to cost to fix the shop,” he said. “But with the costs of clean-up and repairs, it could easily go up over $1 million.”

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Area youth looking for a new way to get their kicks might find it in the spring soccer league offered by Ruston Parks and Recreation Department.
The co-ed league is open to boys and girls ages 4-12. Age divisions are Under 5, U6, U8, U10 and Over 10.
RPAR Recreation Supervisor Ashlynn Shell said RPAR has both a spring and winter soccer league, but the former typically draws a few more young people.

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North Central Louisiana Arts Council is making plans for its annual program, Drama Warehouse, to be held this April at the Jackson Parish Library in Jonesboro. Drama Warehouse is part of our MARK programming, Making Art Reach Kids.
These programs encourage creativity in our youth through creative workshops, educational programs, visiting artists and touring exhibits. Drama Warehouse is a month-long workshop that pairs literacy and drama. Since 1994, NCLAC has presented Drama Warehouse in Lincoln, Jackson, Bienville, Claiborne and Union parishes.

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BATON ROUGE — Louisiana highway safety officials are urging motorists to exercise caution before, during and following functions surrounding the Monday BCS championship game featuring Louisiana State University vs. University of Alabama.
The big game will attract a sellout crowd to the New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome, and thousands of other fans are expected to hit the road to watch the national college championship contest at sports bars and private parties. Safety officials warn a critical period will occur following the game Monday evening when thousands of fans will be driving home, many after having consumed alcohol.

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With the village of Simsboro working toward renovating a building into a new town hall, there have been some differences in opinion as to how the project would be funded.
Mayor Willie Hendricks at one time suggested the idea of using money from the water fund, which would be replaced over a period of three years.
The water fund contains all water-related revenue and is used to pay all water-related expenses.

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It seems as if the start of every new year also brings along with it the announcement of new cuts being made from our state’s public colleges and universities.
Whether the cuts are large or small — depending on what each university has to cut — the public schools in Louisiana are facing a daunting challenge from the University of Louisiana System when it comes to their funding.

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Brandon Gibson can be excused if he’s approaching Louisiana Tech University’s league-opening contest on Saturday with an extra tinge of interest.
It’s for a good reason.
A year ago — almost to the day, no less — the 6-5 junior guard suffered a season-ending injury (torn ligaments) in the Bulldogs’ first Western Athletic Conference contest of the 2010-11 season.

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NEW ORLEANS — All roads in the sports world lead straight to the Big Easy.
If there’s any place for a fan, particularly one who loves football, New Orleans is it for this week and into the early part of next week.
Sugar Bowl on Tuesday night, Saints against the Lions in the NFC playoffs on Saturday night and then LSU versus Alabama for the BCS championship on Monday night.

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Ruston High’s girls will close out play in its annual basketball tournament tonight after taking losses in their first and second round contests.
The Lady Bearcats fell to Shreveport Green Oaks 38-21 in the opening round and then lost 46-40 to Monroe Richwood on Thursday night.
In the latter game, Ruston was led in scoring by Miyata Bridges with 15 points.

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GRAMBLING — Grambling State’s men finally broke into the victory column for the young season by outlasting Alabama A&M 60-55 in a Southwestern Athletic Conference game here Thursday night.
Pacing the Tigers (1-11, 1-1) to the win was forward Quincy Roberts with 21 points and eight rebounds. Adding on six rebounds each for GSU were Brandon Dorsett and Peter Robertson.

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